Gelatissimo: Try it with Waffles

Pizza Hut Group Feasts

Lately, we've been eating lunches outside (It's the Holiday Season) and we've done it twice at Pizza Hut where we ordered the group feasts. The first lunch out was with my dad, 2 brothers and yours truly at Pizza Hut Bistro Gateway and we ordered FEAST for 8 (since my dad told me we can't make the most out of the Feast for 4) 


The Feast of 8 drived us crazy, especially there are only 4 of us to eat the entire thing. The 8 soups were served, My brothers took two servings while my dad and I took only 1. Our server had to pack the 2 remaining soups into 2 coffee containers (I just realized, who the heck takes out soups?) 


The salads (2) was worth it. The serving of the salad was even bigger than those being sold at Italianni's. The  pasta bolognese had a heaping amount of meatballs. 


We didn't change the drink during our first try: I had to drink pepsi light. whoaaaaa! talk about not drinking softdrinks for the past 20 years. 


Take-outs? Yeah, we did had the pasta bolognese and 2 soups... BURP! :) It was a value for 1,200. 


Our next try was just a while ago at SM North Edsa, this time with me, my mom and my older brother. We had the feast for 4, the only difference was this was with Pan Pizza and Hot Patata. The Hot Patatas was served with a dip. The pan pizza was relatively big and mom had eaten most of the salad.  It was also value for 699. 


Note: Pizza Hut adds Service Charges and Tax :D

Seattle's Best: Drowning Food with a Cold Javakula

Amongst the coffee shops in Metro Manila, it is Seattle's Best whom we less frequent but today, my family broke the rule since we're coming from the Sumo Sam franchise branch of my cousin for my grandfather's birthday. 

The place was relatively new at Gilmore, my father told me it just opened days before Christmas so the airconditioning and the facilities are in perfect condition. 

To your left is a closer look to my order: BROWNIE JAVAKULA. Seattle's Best describes the drink as the perfect combination of our smooth coffee and vanilla, blended with fudgy brownie bits, covered with a cloud of whipped creams and dotted with more brownie bits. The drink was sweet but it was perfect to drown what I ate in Sumo Sam --> I have to forgive myself for the calories I ate this Holiday season. 

Another look at my Javakula. They have other flavors at reasonable prices. Seattle's Best also has the same kind of promo for a planner: 10 regular drinks + 8 holiday drinks = 1 PLANNER with P 3,500 worth of freebies inside. Because my entire family was there... I had 6 stickers in an instant. Accumulation of stickers is until January 22, 2012. 

If you're looking for something good to eat (filling, I should say), Seattle's Best also offer a line of light meals, pastries and desserts. They also have a breakfast seved all day... to know more: Visit here:

**would update this post once I have the exact address.

Go Vegetarian, Go Pho Hoa

Pho Hoa Franchise Logo 

We were at the mall for about the entire day during Christmas and for dinner, we've decided to choose between Bon Chon and Pho Hoa in Trinoma and Pho Hoa it was since Bonchon was jam-packed. 

It's been a long time since we last ate at Pho Hoa, Pho Hoa is a Vegetarian and Vietnamese restaurant that didn't appeal to me at first because I thought all things that they offer are noodles but since then, they have introduced rice plates. 

Grilled Pork and Spring Rolls P 250  (photo by www.foodtrippings.com)

I've ordered the Grilled Pork and Spring Rolls rice plate in Pho Hoa, the vinegar is a sweet sauce for the spring rolls while the pork complements the rice very well. I love the meal and I believe it was just priced right so I recommend it if you go there and want to try something different away from those Vietnam noodles. 

Each table consists of one bottle of Sri Racha Sauce. Sri Racha is a Thai hot sauce which is made up of paste of chilli peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. You would encounter this type of sauce in Pho Hoa and do not overdo dipping your food into this sauce. 

** We didn't order drinks that's why when both my brother and I overdo the Sri Racha sauce, we immediately asked for water. 

Share: What's your Favorite Pasta Place?

Lafang Adventures would like to know where is your favorite place for pasta dishes? Here are some of my awesome favorites:


Aveneto

FETTUCINNE WITH SEAFOOD & ASPARAGUS

(picture taken from Soulful Eater: soulfuleater.blogspot.com)

This has been one of my favorites especially during my dine-outs with friends/birthday gatherings. My mom usually asks  the waiter to remove the asparagus onto the pasta so I prefer to having it  eaten that way. 

CLASSIC CARBONARA 

picture taken from (ph.openrice.com) 

I prefer this over the one with Chicken. Strips of bacon, ham and of course, the herb-based carbonara sauce taste to perfection. 

BIGOLI 

TOUR ITALY 

Tour Italy is a combination of 3 pastas in Bigoli composed of Spaghetti Bolognese, Fettucinne and Lasagna - P 160 only. 

How about you? Where is your favorite pasta place? 

Foodie Mode: My Favorite Italianni's Lunch

Amongst the restaurants of The Bistro Group, it was Italiannis whom we frequent often because of the number of branches it has in the Metropolis. Italianni's is a quite pricey Italian restaurants where I never had a chance to eat to if I do not dine with my parents. 

The above photo: Chicken and Fish Skewer is my favorite food here in Italianni's. The grilled dory and chicken are arranged alternately in a skewer with red and green bell peppers and onions. The taste of the chicken and fish provides a less guilty feeling after eating it unlike from eating a meal with meat. The freshness of the fish complements well with the pesto rice and marinara sauce. *THUMBS UP* 

If ever you drop by Italianni's, I hope you do get a chance to have this meal. 

Foodie Mode: Yellow Cab Early Breads

Foodie Mode are things that I wanted to try and one of them is Yellow Cab's Early Breads. 
It is not unusual for us to see a Yellow Cab Branch that is open for 24 hours, but I am sure you wouldn't like to eat pizza, pasta at the wee hours of the morning so you're in for a treat with YELLOW CAB's EARLY BREADS. 

BACON, CHEESE AND MANGO BAGUETTE (P140) 


Bacon, a blend of premium cheeses and sweet mango sauce in between 2 pieces of crusty baguette. 

HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE, CHEESE AND EGG CIABATTA (P 140) 


Slices of hungarian sausage, scrambled egg and cheese and whole ciabatta bread. 

HAM, SALAMI, CHEESE and SCRAMBLED EGG CIABATTA (P 140) 


Ham, Salami, Egg and Cheese on whole wheat ciabatta. 

Where is your favorite Milktea place?

I had been posting about Milkteas for quite some time and I had been a fan of Chatime, but I know there are still some good milk tea places around the Metropolis that offers wide-range of drinks, so Lafang Adventures would like to know: Where is your favorite Milktea place and what is the best drink to order? 


- Gong Cha
- Serenitea
- Happy Lemon 


If there are other places, let me know... :D 

Going gaga over 36-inches pizza, THE BIG GUYS WAY

My friends and I chipped in to throw a small party before we ended our respective internships at Araneta Center and amongst the food, we had ordered the 36-inches Big Guys Pizza. 

BIG GUYS PIZZA MENU (taken in their  FB fanpage)

And here it is, the pizza:

Friends/Officemates with the pizza, BIG! ^^

We ordered the BIG GUYS Specialty, a combination of flavors 1-11 and 15. The best part  of it, it only cost P 1398.00 (I didn't ask my friends if they asked for delivery charges, but I guess they do). It fed almost majority of the IT Division employees and OJTs because it was divided to 70 slices. I didn't taste every flavor but it was actually enough for me to go... *BURP* :D

If you intend to order, here is their Holiday Schedule:

Dec. 24 - 11 - 5 pm

Dec. 25 - Closed

Dec.  26 - 30 - Normal Operations

Dec. 31 - 11-5 pm

Jan. 1 - Closed

Jan. 2 - Normal Operations 

Branches and their Phone Numbers:

Ortigas - 570-8603

Libis - 574-8602 

Makati - 868-1715

Visayas Ave. - 921-5791

Promo: The Unlimited Cakes Offering - TCB & Cravings Group

If there is something that caught my attention with the following blogs like Certified Foodies and Purpledoll.net, it was about their respective features on the Unlimited Coffee and Cakes from Cravings Group Restaurants: The Coffee Beanery and Cravings. 


For Cravings, you can only order 4 cakes from the time you're dining in. The slices are thin so I was thinking hopefully if there are cheesecakes that are offered, it would be better, but then again, cakes would be cakes so they are all yummy. 


If this didn't make you crave, I do not know what else would. Go to the nearest TCB or Cravings branch near you. 

Siopao Madness at Gourmet Pao

I was walking with my mother at SM North Main Building and saw the stall of Gourmet Pao (owned by Mikaela Lagdameo-Martinez), the stall was not extraordinary but what attracted me to stare at it for quite some time is the KC Pao. 

KC-PAO (photo courtesy of Gourmet Pao's FB Fanpage)

KC-PAO is a siopao named after KC Montero. It costs P 720. It is 6 siopaos combined in one which can be sliced to at least 12 slices to be shared to others particularly when you are in the party. 

(photo courtesy of Gourmet Pao's FB Fanpage)

I would like to try their wheat variant, surely Mikaela Martinez has thought of things for health buffs. 

Another way to have a Planner - Moonleaf Style

Tired of trying to drown yourself with coffee just to get the planner that you wish every year? Well, fret no more because there is another way for you to have a planner without the fuss of collecting stickers at a very low price on your favorite tea shop - Moonleaf. 

It is available for 300 pesos (cream) and 450 pesos (black) in an outright purchase to all Moonleaf Tea Shop Branches. 

The planner comes with:

Your planner comes with:

1 - nifty felt bookmark

6 - 10% discount coupons you can use THE WHOLE YEAR! (conditions apply)

2 - FREE DRINK COUPONS you can use on your birthday and on our anniversary! (conditions apply).

So if you are not in the mood to collect 17 to 23 stickers but still ought for discount coupons on your favorite hang-out place, go buy Moonleaf 2012 Planner. 

The author is not related to anyone on Moonleaf Tea Shop. It is her prerogative to write about anything related to food. 

Going Japanese: Beef Stew Bento Box at Tokyo Tokyo

If you are in the mood for affordable yet yummy Japanese food, you had probably encountered Tokyo-Tokyo a million of times. Tokyo-Tokyo has been a part of my college life since it had a branch in Morayta, Manila (I study in one of the colleges there, check in the About Me section if you intend to know) :) 


So on my visit there last Thursday right after my internship at Araneta Center, I decided to try out one of their new additions to their menu: BEEF STEW BENTO BOX. 

[A fixed photo of the Beef Stew Bento Box I got from Google] 

You can order this ala carte at P 160, but since I was hungry, I went for the set menu which consists of the beef stew misono, vegetables, rice, miso soup, dessert and red ice tea which is for 210.00 and had my drink upsized by adding 20 pesos = P 230.00

My shot:

There are 3 chunks of beef in the bento box, for that alone, I felt that I wouldn't get the worth if I had eaten it ala carte. The flavor of the beef stew was the same to my Filipino pallette, nothing exciting. 

The miso soup was enough to fill in my craving for Beef Stew. It was served hot that was the reason why I love it. 

I didn't took a picture of the jelly and ice tea, but it was delicious. 

Overall, the Beef Stew experience was okay, but I think I would not order it again the next time I'm at Tokyo Tokyo, I can go for other Misono sets. 

Starbucks: Sweet Tooth Indulgence Saturday

With holidays coming, it seemed like the diet contest I was once in to would not work anymore, primarily because there are a lot of treats available because of the season and one of the places that gives all the temptations would happen to be Starbucks. 


I happen to be at the CCP Complex Grounds to watch my dad and brother complete the Don Henricos Fun Run... then afterwards, it was off to Starbucks inside Harbor Square.

Starbucks counter - No queue yet that time. 

When my dad asked me what I wanted, I chose the Molten Chocolate Cake (P 120) out of my curiosity. Starbucks describe the Molten Chocolate Cake as a moist chocolate sponge cake and filled with dark chocolate and caramel truffle. Served wickedly warm, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with Starbucks caramel sauce.

(Too bad the whipped cream fall off before I had a chance to take a photo, looks too good to be eaten) It was very rich and creamy, enough to make me forget my stresses. :)

My father ordered another cheesecake, I don't know but I guess it was for the sake of tasting it. It was a Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers. It was a 3 layer cheesecake  loaded with chunks of Snickers candy bar in a chocolate cookie crust topped with a chocolate fudge icing and topped with roasted chopped peanuts. It was something I went gaga with. 

I enjoyed the simple sinful snack by drowning it with a grande Toffee Nut frappe. :) I think we almost finished the Christmas part of the 2012 Planner Card. 


This starbucks branch is at: 

Harbour Square          

G/F Harbuor Square, Pedro Bukaneg St.

CCP Complex, Manila    

551 - 0115

M – Th     - 6:30am - 12:30am

Sat          - 6:30am - 2:00am

Sun         - 6:30am - 1:30am

Lunch at World Chicken

It was my last day at internship so I've decided to give in to my whims and try different kinds of food: from pizza, inihaw,  to tokwa't baboy, japanese food and lastly: World Chicken. 


I actually didn't have lunch here myself, I had lunch with a fellow intern mate at Araneta Center who tried to convince me to choose Reyes Barbecue but lines were too long so I opted for World Chicken. 


World Chicken is a "Create Your Own Platter" restaurant where you have various combinations that could go well with your chicken. If you opt to go for 1 side dish, you would pay P 132.00 while 2 side dishes cost P 158.00 (you get carbs, side dish and chicken). 


You can choose the following carbs/side dishes to go with your chicken: ice (Garlic, Bacon Fried, Japanese, Espanyol) or pasta (Asian noodles, Spaghetti Pomodoro, Pesto Cream, Fettuccine Al Tono). Other side dishes include: Mashed Potatoes, Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Cheese Muffin, or Fried Banana.


For the sauce of the chicken:  you can order Taragon, Teriyaki, Mornay Cheese, regular gravy, Sweet Chili, Ranch BBQ, Corn and Mushroom, and Farm-fresh Mushroom sauces.


So here, I am going for my choice first:

I went for the 2 side dishes since I was hungry: has fettucinne, potato salad and my chicken had tarragon sauce for it: the verdict, PERFECT. It was enough not to make me hungry until dinner time. I drowned it with a large glass of ice tea for only 26 pesos (large). 


Meal Cost Me: P 158 + 26 = P 184

(Pardon me for the photo of a beleaguered inasal)

Intern mate tried Chicken Inasal and had to wait 7 minutes for it, okay I was assuming because they have it freshly cooked, unfortunately upon seeing it, intern mate got disappointed, he thought it was like Mang Inasal and according to him, it was too salty. 

Chicken Inasal for P 138 + soda, I think it cost him around P 160. 

But then, still because it's lunch time...

The Aftermath of our hunger:

Verdict: After trying, I promise I would come back to try the other side dishes when I am in the mood for Grilled Chicken. 

Foodie Mode: Red Ribbon Salisbury Steak

Price: Php 160 (with drinks and cake)  

I was recently looking through several pictures of red ribbon's rice meals because I ought to eat lunch at Red Ribbon a while ago (I ended up satisfying my curiosity about KFC's Double Down) and I believe that Red Ribbon has been one of those restaurants serving great salisbury steaks.

It is a one piece burger steak topped with creamy sauce, mashed potato, corn and carrots and a cup of rice. I drown it most often with ice tea or pineapple juice and I look at the Cake of the Day sign to see what dessert am I going to pick.

If ever I'm in the mood to walk far, gonna go grab this for lunch.

Photo grabbed from: ph.openrice.com

KFC Double Down

Intrigued of what a KFC Double Down Burger tasted like after all those commercials I had been reading, I decided to drop by myself at the nearest KFC store and ordered the double down meal which was valued at P 150 and  I upsized my meal with large ice tea in preparation for the spicy feel I expected it to be.


Double Down are fried spicy chicken fillets enveloping each other with a slice of bacon, cheese and a pat of mayonnaise inside. The size of the burger was not as big as I thought it was but the spicy feel overwhelmed me. 


It was really worth my curiosity to try. *thumbs up* 

Chatime Gateway opens

A big yay for curious Milk Tea enthusiasts like me who is near Cubao is that Chatime Gateway is already open....

Source: Chatime Philippines FB page

Recipe: Monggo Guisado from Filipino-Foods.com

I do not cook too often, the last time I cooked, it was a burnt breakfast (scrambled egg with onions), but I am a fan of delicious Pinoy food and one of my favorites is monggo guisado.

This is probably the best recipe of Monggo Guisado I saw over the net .

Ingredients:
1/2 pound raw mung beans
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 pound peeled and deveined prawns
1 small tomato, diced
3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
1/2 pound fresh spinach leaves

Directions:
1. Bring the mung beans and the water to a boil in a pot. Cook at a boil until the beans are soft, about 40 minutes.
2. Mash the beans; set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Cook and stir the onion and garlic in the hot oil over medium heat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Add the pork; season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking the mixture another 3 minutes.
5. Gently stir the prawns into the mixture. Cook 2 minutes more.

SOURCE:http://www.filipino-foods.com/filipino-foods/mung-bean-soup-recipe

Gelatissimo

Print this flyer and get another scoop free (Buy-One-Take One) of the Christmas of Chocolate flavors in Gelatissimo.

Offer runs until January 8, 2012 only.

Gelatissimo Branches 

Manila

2F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center

Makati City

7283587

Serendra, Bonifacio High St.,

Bonifacio Global City Taguig

5763088

4F Trinoma Mall, Edsa,

cor. North Ave. Quezon City

9159997

Cebu Branches

The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu,

Cebu Business Park, Archbishop Reyes Ave., Cebu

UG/F Sm City Cebu, North Reclamation Area,

Mabolo, Cebu City

Milk Tea Fever

I believe that I was late with the MILKTEA FEVER. Honestly, as much as people would call me a foodie (because of the restaurants I've tried on trips), I only started trying milkteas a few weeks ago, at Chatime SM North Edsa. 


So here, I'm trying to compose myself about the first hand experience I had with Chatime when I haven't decided to be a food blogger yet (that's why no photos as of now) and how I feel about Happy Lemon and Gong Cha (which I hope to try soon). 

For my first order at Chatime, I was kind of apprehensive so I decided to order what the cashier answered when I asked him: What's the best drink you can suggest to me? and he answered, chocolate mousse, and I actually did not regret following his advice. I ordered the large size with extra pudding...It was fantastic. 


I forgot what my siblings ordered but they had all their drinks finished on a jiffy. 


I want to go back at Chatime d: 








I have always heard of Happy Lemon, now that they have a nearer branch in Trinoma, I can't wait to taste cocoa with rock salt and cheese and their milk tea with oreo cookies & cream, heaven! :D 


I don't know if there's a Gong Cha branch here in QC, but I am meaning to try that also on a latter date. 


If you have your own milk tea experience and a store to recommend... please do. (THUMBS UP!) 

BPI My ePrepaid + Chatime unites

 

Love Milk Tea and Shopping? Then you'll definitely love Chatime Philippines newest partner, BPI My ePrepaid Mastercard. It is a reloadable prepaid card issued by BPI that can be used to shop online. Get My ePrepaid for P 500 on 2 years membership and you could get 2 coupons of a large drink of your choice at Chatime.

(This looks good especially for those who love Milktea... Mousse drinks baby! d:)

Tres Cuisine

I thought today was a good start for food blogging because we went out for breakfast at Tres in The Block, however, as I got my camera, it was only when we reached the restaurant did I realize that I forgot to put the batteries inside I charged last night. :| 

Here's the place, the restaurant was situated near The Block's Main Entrance. Since we went there for breakfast, I did not complain when the doors were open and aircon was shut, since there were no customers yet. Breakfast was served from 7:30 - 10 am. 


I had ordered Garlic Longganisa (P 129), it was served with sinangag and egg on top and atchara on the side. I didn't bother to taste the atchara because I can do well without it. The eggs were almost perfect and the garlic longganisa was heaven. 


My brother, Carlo, ordered beef tapa. He didn't tell me how it tasted but based from the end results, I believe he liked it. 


My dad ordered the usual thing, omellet with a lot of veggies. 


My younger brother, Alfred ordered corned beef, though he didn't finish it all because he bought food from Go Nuts Donuts, It was enough to actually conquer my pallette.


** I promise that I would bring a camera everytime I go out. PROMISE. :>

Quick Post: My Favorite Canned Good: Century Corned Tuna

Before, we used to have a traditional Sunday breakfast, which is corned beef, but nowadays, in the process of going "meatless", I get to eat something still similar to  corned beef, but of course, because it is Century, it is
corned tuna.

The Chilli Corned Tuna has been my quick breakfast fix whenever I do not like to cook/ask our househelp for help on scrambled eggs. I just heat it in a pan along with chopped onions (My mom asks me to stop eating onions but I can't resist - Onions are actually delicious) when it's done, I eat it with 2 pcs. pandesal and a cup of Kopiko Brown Coffee/Choco Pilipino.

(I love it chilli) :)

Haven't tried Chilli Corned Tuna yet? go grab one at your nearest supermarkets, nationwide. 

Century Tuna also has the following products: Century Tuna Flakes In Oil, Century Tuna Lite, Century Tuna Mayo Spread, Century Tuna Red Label, Century Tuna Paella, Century Tuna Sausage and Beans. 

Live healthy, Live Century

Foodie

Though I had to lie-low to lose weight, I believe I am still a foodie, I have a family who likes food (even if my parents are now on Cohen Diet, we still manage to dine out in style), thus, the birth of this blog - Lafang Adventures.

Hopefully, this would serve as my online food sharing of the places (restaurants/bars/stands) I go to, after all, we do love everything about FOOD :)